Harrison County presents a split-screen underwriting tension: Zillow’s $146,219 median home value in 2026-06 rose 1.97% year over year, versus FHFA’s 2025 annual repeat-transaction HPI, which fell 12.83%. Because the measures use distinct methods and supplied periods, they cannot be combined into an appreciation rate. This is a county where buyers dependent on appreciation should be cautious and where any purchaser should test recent closed comparables and property condition before setting value.
Housing economics remain unproven because market asking rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be calculated. HUD’s $973 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not an estimate of asking rent, and cannot substitute. The effective property-tax rate is 1.05%, with median annual tax of $1,279; parcel-level tax and insurance must be tested against rent comps. Realtor.com supplies MLS listing-market evidence rather than transaction evidence, so its asking prices cannot confirm a sale-price level.
At 26 active MLS listings, visible supply was down 24.64% year over year, while 24.36% of listings had a price reduction. Limited availability alongside visible concessions is mixed negotiating evidence, not proof of buyer demand. Migration was a net loss of 10 tax-return households, although households moving in reported average adjusted gross income $1,632 above those moving out; that mix does not establish durable renter or owner demand. Eight of 110 purchase mortgages went to non-occupants, a measured investor presence that may affect competition but excludes transactions outside this measure. QCEW describes annual covered employment at county workplaces, not resident employment or unemployment; Trade, transportation, and utilities is only the largest disclosed private supersector, not the full economy.
Risk pricing needs more than county averages. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled expected annual building-value loss is 0.10%; this is not a parcel flood determination or insurance quote. Missing market rents prevent a yield and cash-flow conclusion; missing closed sales, flood-zone data, insurance quotes, financing terms, and property condition prevent a defensible acquisition price or hazard-adjusted carrying-cost conclusion. Next review should assemble those property-level facts and separate insured from uninsured flood exposure.